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Riding on the City of New Orleans, Illinois Central Monday morning rail Fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders, Three conductors and twenty-five sacks of mail. All along the southbound odyssey The train pulls out at Kankakee Rolls along past houses, farms and fields. Passin' trains that have no names, Freight yards full of old black men And the graveyards of the rusted automobiles.
CHORUS: Good morning America how are you? Don't you know me I'm your native son, I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans, I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done.
Dealin' card games with the old men in the club car. Penny a point ain't no one keepin' score. Pass the paper bag that holds the bottle Feel the wheels rumblin' 'neath the floor. And the sons of pullman porters And the sons of engineers Ride their father's magic carpets made of steel. Mothers with their babes asleep, Are rockin' to the gentle beat And the rhythm of the rails is all they feel.
CHORUS
Nighttime on The City of New Orleans, Changing cars in Memphis, Tennessee. Half way home, we'll be there by morning Through the Mississippi darkness Rolling down to the sea. And all the towns and people seem To fade into a bad dream And the steel rails still ain't heard the news. The conductor sings his song again, The passengers will please refrain This train's got the disappearing railroad blues.
Good night, America, how are you? Don't you know me I'm your native son, I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans, I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done.
-------------------- Everybody has to believe in something. I believe I'll take the train! Posts: 230 | From: Ithaca, New York | Registered: May 2009
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I've got a recording by Arlo Guthrie, and one by Steve Goodman. Goodman wrote the original song, but the Arlo Gurthrie version is *much* better (I always enjoyed Steve Goodman, who was a Chicago local in the early 1970s when I was in school there, but he was more a comedian than a singer). Guthrie made some minor changes to the words from Steve Goodman's version. What's printed above is the Arlo Guthrie version.
Posts: 614 | From: Merchantville, NJ. USA | Registered: Aug 2000
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Besides being a railfan, I'm also an Arlo Guthrie fan, and, to some extent, a Steve Goodman fan. Arlo usually goes into some detail at his concerts about how he met Goodman ("Chicago Shorty") after a gig and agreed to listen to the song in return for a beer that Goodman bought him. The rest, as they say, is history.
Posts: 1530 | From: Ocala, FL | Registered: Dec 2006
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Dee, Arlo says he's not doing Alice's Restaurant in his concerts any more. Hope you (and everyone else on here) has a Thanksgiving dinner "that couldn't be beat" (but please be careful where you throw out your garbage).
Posts: 1530 | From: Ocala, FL | Registered: Dec 2006
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Mike, Am always careful about where I throw my garbage. Every small New England town has it's Obie. Dee
Posts: 460 | From: North Central CT | Registered: May 2004
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Dee -- I didn't realize that was a "national" tradition about playing "Alice's Restaurant" on Thanksgiving Day -- the only radio station I know of that does that is Radio Margaritaville (Sirius ch. 31) -- they air non-stop concert replays of Jimmy Buffett shows from the last X many years all day on Thanksgiving, and between each concert replay, they play "Alice's Restaurant" -- I thought that was just a "tradition" of that particular radio station --
Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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So I aint sure about this, but there is a story out there that the missing minutes in the Nixon tapes match the minutes of Alice's Restaurants.
Posts: 229 | From: Long Beach CA | Registered: Jan 2007
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Yup, Arlo has lots of fun with that story when he does Alice's. What else in the world is exactly 18 minutes and 20 seconds long?
Posts: 1530 | From: Ocala, FL | Registered: Dec 2006
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Willie Nelson also covered CONO back in the late 70s, I believe-- I've got it on a 45 RPM black vinyl "big hole" record! Man-- "those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end...." Who remembers that old "period song" as well?
Posts: 588 | From: East San Diego County, CA | Registered: Oct 2004
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Somebody does; yes I too was once young (serving in 'Nam when this was released).
Posts: 9976 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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^^^ Good find, Gil-- this singer really delivers the song in a "torch" style- a little different than the original singer Mary Hopkins. Still good-- a true "song of the sixties"- it's all rolled up in a big blurry ball of memories for some of us here who went through that era. Well, guess I'll go listen to some Jim Morrison and blow off some steam...haha. Thanks again for the link. Thanks also for your 'Nam service-- and all those others who went, and never really got thanked for their service...
Posts: 588 | From: East San Diego County, CA | Registered: Oct 2004
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There is also a good bluegrass version of "City of New Orleans" by the Seldom Scene. And I think even Judy Collins may have sung a version, though I'm not sure.
I cannot play You Tube on my computer--is your link to Mary Hopkin's Those Were the Days, Mr. Norman? She is a Welsh singer, did some other fine stuff as well.
Posts: 2642 | From: upstate New York | Registered: Mar 2004
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The youtube link to Those Were the Days is the Sandie Shaw version - her trade mark was performing in bare feet.
I'm no authority on music of any sort, but in my opinion the Mary Hopkin version is far superior.
I have to admit that my MP3 player has the John Denver version of City of New Orleans on it.
Posts: 28 | From: Bristol England | Registered: Jan 2003
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Yes, the Mary Hopkins version of "Those Were The Days" is definitely the best........
Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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And Arlo's version of CONO is the gold standard for me; the rest are just knockoffs.
Posts: 1530 | From: Ocala, FL | Registered: Dec 2006
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Try Johnny Cash on youtube. His version of CoNO is filmed on the train in Illinois Central times(I think). Some of the youtube versions have him talking about the decline of passenger trains. He also does 'Riding the Rails' sitting in a dome car! Amazing footage. John
Posts: 41 | From: Yaxham, Norfolk, UK | Registered: Jul 2006
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It is indeed, Mr Norman, but there is another, longer, clip with an introduction. I must learn how to post the details! I will ask one of my sons. John
Posts: 41 | From: Yaxham, Norfolk, UK | Registered: Jul 2006
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